Suction cleaner



new;

Dec. 1, 1953 Filed Sept. l, 1951 J. E. VANCE SUCTION CLEANER 2Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. JOHN E. .VANCE Dec. 1, 1953 J. E. vANcE2,661,078

SUCTION CLEANER Filed Sept. 1, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

INVENTOR: JOH N E. VA NC E Patented Dec. l, 1953 sUcTToN CLEANER John E.Vance, North Canton, Ohio, assigner to The Hoover Company, North Canton,Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application September 1, 1951, Serial No. 244,770

1o claims. (ci. 1834-51) The invention relates to suction cleaners andmore particularly to a simplified and improved mode of mounting the dirtfilter therein.

This invention has particular utility with tank type cleaners employinginexpensive disposable filters and to a novel and improved clampingconstruction for holding such a filter in place in the cleaner. One ofthe simplest and least expensive type of disposable filter is a tubularreceptacle having one end closed. The clamping of the open end of such afilter to the cleaner casing has been a troublesome problem for whichbetter solutions are desired.

The present invention has been found highly satisfactory in fulfillingthis need. The structure of the lter bag and the clamping means thereforis simple, easy to operate, positive and adapted for use with paper orcloth filters alone, or both in combination, with equal facility.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new andimproved suction cleaner.

Another object is the provision of a simplified lter clamp for use witheither a cloth or a paper filter alone, or in combination with oneanother, in a suction cleaner.

Still another object is the provision of a filter clamp operating inconjunction with the access closure of a suction cleaner, and moreparticularly a clamp which functions to seal against the filter or torelease the saine as the closure is position of parts of the clamp asthe same is being closed according to one mode of operation.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail of the edge of the lter and clampingring.

The invention may be incorporated in a suction cleaner having an outercylindrical casing IIJ supported upon a pair of runners I I tofacilitate its movement over the floor. A motor-fan unit generallyindicated at I2 is supported within the rear end of the casing in anyconvenient manner. The supports for one end are shown -as comprising aring I3 carrying a resilient rubber supporting ring I4 in which multiplestage fan chamber I E is cradled. An electric motor I6 is rigidly joinedto the fan chamber and its shaft extends into the fan chamber andsupports the fan therein. The fan inlet I7 opens through the forward endof the fan casing and is protected against the entrance of foreignbodies by a screen I8. The rear end of the casing is closed by aremovable end cap I9 which is provided with an axial outlet opening inthe l end thereof.

A carrying handle 2l is attached to the top of the cleaner casing at apoint overlying the center of gravity of the cleaner and serves as amounting for the motor control switch 22.

Within the open forward end of casing I0 is a lter mounting ring 23which is provided with frusto-conical lter seating member 24. Ringmember 23 may be secured to the casing I0 by rivets, screws, welding orthe like. The outer larger end of this member is provided with anannular channel 25 Within which the resilient end ring 26 of a clothfilter bag 21 may be supported. Thisbag has a tubular body and a flatbottom 28 whichv normally rest against a pair of guard wires 29 spacedslightly forwardly of screen I8.

'Ihe combined end cap and lter clamping means comprise an end closuremember generally indicated at 30. As illustrated, this end cap comprisesa pair of spaced sheet metal walls 3l and 32 secured together at theirperiphery and supporting a tubular air inlet socket 33 for a :exiblehose extending through the end cap and into the lter chamber. The innerwall 32 of the closure cap has an inwardly depressed portion 34 havingfrusto-conical wall 35 spaced inwardly Afrom and opposite to thefrusto-conical filter i seating member 24 to provide room for aresilient filter seating and clamping ring 36. The

l outer surface 31 of the clamping ring has a normal unstressedcircumference substantially identical with or slightly less than that offrustoconical member 24.

The-filter clamping ring 36 and end cap 30 are lconnected to one side ofcasing I0 by a pair of hinges 38 and 39 having a common pivot 48. A

stop member Il! may be secured to the exterior of the casing in positionto act as a stop limiting the rearward opening movement of the closure,

` as illustrated in Figure 2.

Ring 36 is provided with a tab l2 on the side thereof opposite hinge 38which is slotted or provided with an opening 43 resistingly to receive akeeper pin 44 carried by the inner wall of the closure member. When theclosure is in closed position, pin 44 projects through the opening i3 asillustrated in Figure l. When the closure is pivoted to open position,pin 44 constrains clamping ring 35 to pivot with the closure. However,if the operator wishes to pivot the clamping ring independently of theclosure she may do so by disengaging tab 42 from keeper pin M.

The end cap may be locked in closed position by any suitable means suchas the conventional toggle clamp 45.

The paper filter contemplated for use with this cleaner constructioncomprises merely a tubular paper bag 46 having its inner end closed inany convenient manner and terminating` adjacent wire guard members 29.Its open outer inlet end terminates near the outer end. of the seatingring 24 and its circumference is approximately the same as that of thering.

Operation While Figure 1 has been described as including both the clothand paper filter bags, it is to be understood that the cleaner can beoperated with either a cloth or a paper filter alone, or with these twofilters nested together, asv illustrated. The preferred operation,however, is with the paper iilter alone or in combination with the clothfilter.

In describing the mode of operation, reference will be had to Figure 2showing the cleaner in an upright position on the rear end cap I9.Toggle clamp dii is released and the end cap 3G is pivoted to its fullyopen position against stop 4t. To assemble a new paper lter the operatorinserts the closed end of a new paper bag into the cloth filter untilits lower end comes to rest on the bottom of the cloth filter. Theoperator then takes the precaution of noting whether the inlet end ofthe paper bag is fully open so that its inlet rim lies closely adjacentthe walls of seating ring 24.. While this operation is taking place,resilient clamping ring 36 remains seated over keeper pin 44'. The nextoperation is to disengage thev clamping ring from the keeper pin so thatit may be pivoted independently of the end cap. As the clamping ring isswung downwardly, it will be clearr that the hinged side will enter thefilter inlet rst and will then progressively expand the filter bagagainst the seating ring as it is swung to its fully closed position.Ifv there. is any tendency for the clamping ring to push the bagdownwardly into the cleaner at any point or for the filter bag to becomemisplaced as the ring is closed, this fact becomes immediately apparentto the operator since both the top outer edge of the iilter and thevertical side walls thereof are visible from the top and lower edges ofthe clamping ring through its central opening lter does become misplacedin the clamping operation the operator is apprised of this conditionimmediately and can take the necessary corrective steps. The onlyremaining step is to close the end cap and to latch the toggle clamp inplace. As the end cap pivots to closed position, the frusto-conicalsection 55 of the inner cover wall enters the central opening in theclamping ring and applies additional radial pressure on the clampingring which tends to maintain even a tighter sealing joint between theouter walls of the clamping ring and the lter neck.

The suction hose and cleaning tools are then connected to coupling 33and switch 22 for the motor-fan uni-t is closed. The dirty air streamIhusL if by any chance, the.

enters the filter bag and passes through the walls thereoi` on its wayto fan inlet Il. The air is discharged over the driving motor andoutwardly through the opening in the center of end cap l 9. At the endof the cleaning operation, the cleaner is again upended onto rear endcap I9 and the front end cap is released by opening toggle clamp 45. Asthe end cap is swung to open position, clamping ring S5 is carriedtherewith by the reason of engagement of keeper pin 4d in opening le ofthe clamping ring. Thus, mere opening of the end cap completely releasesboth the paper lter bag and the cloth filter so that either or both maybe withdrawn vertically from the cleaner casing. rIhe dirt filled paperl'ter is then carried to a point of dirt disposal and a new bag isplaced in the cleaner in the simple and expeditious manner describedabove.

If the operator does not have a replacement paper filter, the cleanermay be used with the cloth lter. No special operation is required exceptthat it is unnecessary to close the rubber clamping ring separately fromthe end cap since the reenforoing ring 25 on the cloth filter serves tohold it in place while the end cap is being pivoted to closed position.Hence, the operator merely closes the clamping ring and the end capsimultaneously and latches the same in place by toggle clamp 45.

It is equally as feasible to employ the cleaner with a paper iilteralone and without the presence of the cloth filter bag. In this case theoperator merely inserts the opened paper filter through the open end ofthe cleaner until its bottom is supported by guard wires 2e, 2S. Theopen upper end of the filter is then pressed outwardly against seatingring 223 and clampingf ring 35 is pivoted downwardly there against asdescribed above. Following this, closure cap 3i) is closed and latchedin place by the toggle clamp,

While only a singlev embodiment of the inven tion has been described indetail it will be understood that the underlying principles or theinvention can be carried out by various other structures and arrangementof parts, In particular, it will be understood that both the cloth andpaper lter bags may be of various cross sectional shapes such ascircular, square and rectangular in which case the seating ring,clamping ring and end cap will be of' similar contour and will functionin the same manner as described above. It is therefore to be understoodthat I do not wish to be limited to the particular structure shown anddescribed but to include all equivalent variations thereof except aslimited by the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a suction cleaner having a casing forming a housingfor a dirt filter, a lter receiving opening in said casing, meansadjacent said opening forming a seat for the. open end of a lter baghoused within said casing, a filter clamping means for clamping the openend of said filter to said lter seating means comprising an annularmember hinged to said cleaner to one side of said opening for pivotalmovement toward and away from said filter seating means and operablewhen closed to hold the open end of a filter bag tightly sealed to saidfilter seating means, said filter clamping means having an openingtherethrough permitting the operator to inspect and determine whetherthe filter is prop erly seated and clamped, a cover for said openinghaving portions thereof adapted to engage and depress said clampingmeans, and releasable means for holding said cover in place.

2. A suction cleaner as defined in claim 1 characterized in that saidfilter seating means and said filter clamping means have complementaryfrusto-conical filter engaging areas which are inwardly toward thecenter of said filter housing whereby the closing of said clamping meansacts to expand the open end of a filter outwardly into engagement withsaid filter seating means.

3. A suction cleaner as defined in claim 1 including releasable keepermeans between said cover and said clamping means operable to engage andlock said cover and clamping means together when the same are broughtinto registry with one another.

4. A suction cleaner as defined in claim 3 wherein said cover is hingedto said casing at a point adjacent said hinge for said ilter clampingmeans whereby the opening of said cover opens said lter clamping meansto release the lter bag and clear said casing opening for theexpeditious removal therethrough of the filter bag.

5. A suction cleaner having an open ended cylindrical casing forming afilter bag housing,

filter is properly positioned therebeneath, a cover for said casingopening having a portion for engaging said clamping ring and holding thesame rmly in place against the open end of a filter bag, and releasablemeans for securing said cover in place over said opening.

6. A suction cleaner as defined in claim 5 wherein said filter clampingring is formed of resilient material.

'7. A suction cleaner having a tubular openended casing forming a filterhousing, means within said casing for receiving and supporting anopen-ended paper lter bag so that the open end thereof is adjacent theopen end of said casing, a lter seating ring on said casing having aninwardly flaring filter seating surface opposite the outer rim of saidpaper filter bag, a resilient filter clamping ring having a rim surfacecoinplementary to said flaring seating ring operable as the same istelescoped into the open end of the filter to expand the same outwardlyinto airtight engagement with said seating ring, and holding means forreleasably locking said clamping ring in place against said filter.

8. A suction cleaner as defined in claim 7 characterized in that saidclamping ring is provided with a hinge connection to said casing at oneside thereof so that said ring can be pivoted toward and away from saidseating ring whereby upon closing said clamping ring the same enters theopen end of said lter at an angle to the mouth thereof and progressivelyexpands the filter against said seating ring.

9. A suction cleaner comprising, a tubular casing having an open end, amotor fan unit housed in said casing in the opposite end thereof fromsaid open end, said open end being provided with an inwardly flaringlter seating ring, means in said casing for supporting a paper filterbag so that the inlet rim thereof is opposite the flaring walls of saidseating ring, resilient ring means hinged to the open end of said casinghaving a flaring rim complementary to said seating ring and receivableby the inlet end of the filter to expand the rim thereof into airtightengagement with said seating ring, an end cap hinged to the open end ofsaid casing, means on said end cap for detachably connecting a suctionhose thereto, means on the interior wall of said end cap for engagingsaid resilient ring and holding the same seated against said filter bag,and common releasable means for holding said resilient ring and said endcap in closed position over the open end of said casing.

10. A suction cleaner as dened in claim 9 including releasable keepermeans between said resilient ring and said end cap which interengageautomatically as said end cap is closed whereby said ring pivotsoutwardly along with said cap when the same is swung to open position.

JOHN E. VAN CE.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,056,865 Webster Mar. 25, 1913 2,025,946 Wehner-Gren Dec. 31,1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 2,086 Great Britain Dec. 9,1909

